Potvin29 said:
I think what would really tie this up is if we compared salaries from the 1960s and 1970s with those in the 1930s.
if we look at 1932, 1972 and 2012, we'd have 40 year spans separating them
Nik the Trik said:
In 1972 the minimum NHL salary was 15,000 dollars a year. The median salary was 25,000 dollars.
I didn't check the median number but it looks close enough for our purposes. I believe the average for 1972 was $31,000. In 2012, the average NHL salary was $2.4 mil, the median $1.7 mil.
I couldn't find a similar number for the 1930s. We know the salary cap in mid 1920s was around $35,000 and doubled in the 1930s to between $65,000-70,000. I've read the average 1920s salary was $900. Since the salary cap doubled, let's double the 1920s average salary to derive $1,800 average salary for 1930s. Of specific salaries I've seen for that period, it's ok as a rough estimate. Let's say the median is 25/31 (1972 ratio) of $1,800 - which is $1,452/yr for 1932 (estimate)
$1,452 1932 median in 1972 dollars is $4,087
http://www.dollartimes.com/inflation/inflation.php?amount=300&year=1960
$25,000 is 1972 median in 1972 dollars
$1,712,000 2012 median in 1972 dollars is $311,952.19
The 1972 median is 6.11 times the 1932 median
The 2012 median is 12.48 times the 1972 median
But the 1970s had lifted players salaries with the formation of the NHLPA in '67, NHL expansion in '67 and the startup of the WHA in '71.
Similar numbers for the 1960s, the last decade of original six teams, are more eyebrow raising as I said:
1962 median is only 3.38 times 1932 median
2012 median is 22.59 times 1962 median
The formation of the NHLPA in '67, NHL expansion in '67 and the startup of the WHA in '71 along with things like Curt Flood free agency lawsuit of 1970, bigger rinks, bigger TV deals, improved merchandising, etc launched the rapid growth of NHL salaries.